Personally, I thought the comic to be correct as many do in this country. Yes there are those who fully support the RCMP or any other police force in this country.
I wonder how many of those are of the baby boomer generation or older? Those generations grew up looking at the police force as a group of people who valued their community and wanted to help those in need. Today I really do not think this is the case. Today’s generations, Generation X or younger, know the RCMP to now be run as a business — nothing more.
If you were to ask a wide spectrum of people in Canada, many would not choose a police officer to confide in or to ask for help because more often than not it seems we simply cannot. I myself am an ex-soldier and I know what these guys do for a living. But having a stressful job is no excuse for the behaviours that many of the officers — and I do mean many — get away with on a daily basis or in our court systems.
I find it very sad this is the case but hard to argue with. I would agree that 25 per cent or under of the current force joined to be a positive role model or to help. The others were just those who wanted to carry a gun legally and use that as intimidation on others. I look back at my high school years and think of the bullies who constantly picked on other students who were less gifted in physical ability or simply did not fit in. At my 20-year high school reunion we found out that all of those "bullies" were now police officers. This should say something of the recruiting process for sure.
The RCMP is no longer a service — it is simply a business and run that way. If it was a service, it would be trusted. If it was a service, questions would be asked instead of using force first. EPS is the same way. It seems the baby boomers or older were those saying that a police officer who pulled a person out of a burning car is a hero ... but they failed to realize that the officer was driving drunk and caused the accident or that the department did not seem to do much about it until very recently. One of many black flags for the force, of any kind.
We need a police force — sure. What we really need though is a police force that the people trust again. Right now this does not exist.
Oh, one last note to Al Smith — it was only a comic in an editorial column. The editorial page is always full of a writer’s opinion. Calm down.
Jordan Walters, St. Albert
